JP2810399B2 - Image reading device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that reads an image of a document placed on a substantially flat surface as a two-dimensional image and outputs data of the image, and in particular, The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that reads an image by placing at least a part of the apparatus on a document, and can be used in, for example, an electronic publishing system, a word processing system, an image file system, a copying system, and a facsimile system.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional examples of this type of image reading apparatus include, for example, JP-A-62-62658, JP-A-60-141070, JP-A-60-47555, and JP-A-60-47555. The technique of JP-A-63-42272 is known.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the apparatuses disclosed in JP-A-62-62658 and JP-A-60-141070, the size of an image that can be read by one image reading is preset in the apparatus. Since the size of the reading area is limited, the image exceeding the size cannot be read at once and cannot be handled as one image.
Therefore, if the device is downsized to improve operability,
There is a drawback that images that can be handled are limited to small ones.

Also, JP-A-60-47555 and JP-A-63-42272
In the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H10-209, the sub-scanning is manual, and it is possible to continuously read an image of a substantially arbitrary size by one operation. However, positioning and sub-scanning of the device for image reading are manual operations, and the image being read needs to be opposed to the reading unit of the device. Positioning is not possible.

Thus, the present invention makes it possible to accurately and easily align an image on a document with an image area to be processed by image reading, and to provide a relatively large image for a reading device.
A first object is to make it possible to continuously read the same image as it is, and to make it possible to accurately and easily perform alignment of a large image.

Further, the present invention further enables arbitrary image processing to be performed for each specified area on an image to be read, and adjusts the position between the specified area and the image on the document when the image is relatively large. A second object is to make it possible to perform the operation accurately and easily.

A third object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of a positional shift between those areas and an actual image on a document when designating a range of an image reading area or an image processing area. I do.

[Means for Solving the Problem 1] In order to solve the first problem, according to the present invention, an image pickup unit that separates and reads a document image in units of pixels, and the image pickup unit having a light transmitting property includes: Display means that can be placed at any position on the document to be read, is substantially integrally configured,
An image reading assembly movable on the document; a moving amount detecting means for detecting a moving amount of the image reading assembly; and visible information indicating a reading range on the document is displayed on the display means. Display control means for updating a display position of the information in accordance with the movement amount detected by the movement amount detection means.

[Function 1] According to the present invention, the visible information indicating the reading range is displayed on the light transmissive display means placed on the original so that the operator can read the information from the display means. The visible information and the image on the original which is transmitted and overlapped with the display means can be viewed at the same time, so that the position of the image on the image and the reading range can be extremely accurately adjusted. In addition, when the image reading assembly is moved, the position of the visible information on the display means changes accordingly, so that the size of the reading range displayed on the display means is reduced.
Even if it is larger than the size of the display means, it is possible to see the correspondence between the reading range and the position of the image on the document over the entire reading range. In other words, even when reading an image larger than the display means, by referencing the visible information on the display means while moving the image reading assembly, the result of alignment between the reading range and the image on the document can be accurately determined. Can be confirmed.

[Means for Solving the Problem 2] In order to solve the second problem, according to the present invention, an image pickup means for decomposing and reading a document image in pixel units, and an image pickup means having light transmittance, Display means that can be placed at any position on the document to be read, is substantially integrally configured,
An image reading assembly movable on the document;
Image processing means for performing processing determined for each area designated by the area designating means on the image data output by the imaging means; movement amount detecting means for detecting the movement amount of the image reading assembly A display for displaying visible information indicating a range of an area specified by the area specifying means on the display means, and updating a display position of the visible information in accordance with the movement amount detected by the movement amount detection means; Control means;
Is provided.

[Function 2] According to the present invention, the visible information indicating the range of the processing area to be image-processed is displayed on the light-transmissive display means placed on the document so that the operator can display the information. From above the means, the visible information and the image on the original which is seen through and overlapped by the display means can be viewed at the same time, and the alignment between the image on the original and the range of the image processing area can be performed very accurately. Moreover, when the image reading assembly is moved, the position of the visible information on the display means changes accordingly, so that the size of the reading range displayed on the display means is larger than the size of the display means. It is also possible to see the correspondence between the position of the image processing area and the position of the image on the document over the entire reading range. In other words, even when reading an image larger than the display means, by referring to the visible information on the display means while moving the image reading assembly, the image processing area at any position and the The result of the alignment with the image can be confirmed accurately.

[Means for Solving the Problem 3] In order to solve the above third problem, in the present invention, an image pickup means for decomposing and reading a document image in units of pixels, and an image pickup means having optical transparency, Display means that can be placed at any position on the document to be read, is substantially integrally configured,
An image reading assembly movable on the document; a moving amount detecting means for detecting a moving amount of the image reading assembly; and visible information indicating a reading range on the document is displayed on the display means. Display control means for updating a display position of information according to the movement amount detected by the movement amount detection means; and a coordinate input means for inputting a two-dimensional position with an input surface having optical transparency. The input surface is provided so as to substantially overlap the display surface of the display means.

[Function 3] According to the present invention, the coordinate input means, together with the display means, is disposed substantially on the document to be read. Moreover, since the input surface of the coordinate input means is light transmissive, the operator can input an arbitrary position in the document while viewing the image on the document through the display means and the coordinate input means. Therefore, if the position coordinates are input using this coordinate input means, there is no fear that the input position is shifted from the actual position on the document.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a memory for storing an image read by the image reading apparatus is provided, and a recording unit is provided, so that both reading and recording of an image, that is, a copying operation can be performed. During recording, the image to be recorded is displayed on the display means, and the display position is
Update as the image reading assembly moves.

Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows an appearance of an image processing system embodying the present invention in one usage mode.

The system shown in FIG. 1 includes a personal computer 90 and an image processing terminal device 340. Referring to FIG. 1, a personal computer 90 includes a keyboard 91,
Plasma display 92, floppy disk device 93, external wired interface 94, and external wireless interface 95
It has. Further, a not-shown CPU (microprocessor), a main memory, a hard disk device, and the like are provided therein. The external wireless interface 95
Ultrasonic waves are used as signal carriers to transmit signals to and from an external device.

In this example, an image processing terminal device 340 is connected to the external wired interface 94 of the personal computer 90 via a connection cable 244. This image processing terminal device 340 implements the present invention.

The image processing terminal device 340 roughly has the following three functions. That is, the first function is an image reading function, in which an image on the document (10) is raster-scanned, information of the image decomposed in units of pixels is sequentially read, and the image data is read by an external device ( In this example, it is output to a personal computer 90). The second function is an image recording function, which is performed by an external device (in this example, a personal computer 9).
0) receives the text and picture image data entered from
The image is recorded as a permanent image on a recording medium (10). The third function is a copy function. The image processing terminal device 340 alone reads an arbitrary document image and records the image as a permanent image on an arbitrary recording medium.

In this specification, the first, second, and third functions are referred to as a scanner mode, a printer mode, and a copy mode, respectively. In the copy mode, the reading operation and the recording operation are not performed simultaneously in time, so the former operation stage is called a reading stage, and the latter operation step is called a recording stage.

In the scanner mode and the printer mode, not only the online operation using an external device such as the personal computer 90, but also the offline operation of the image processing terminal device 340 alone is possible. In this case, the image data read in the scanner mode is stored in the floppy disk drive.
In the printer mode, image data read from the floppy disk is output and printed in the printer mode.

When two image processing terminal devices 340 are connected to each other in a wired or wireless manner, and one device is operated in the scanner mode and the other device is operated in the printer mode, the image is read simultaneously with the reading of the document image. Recording (printing) can be performed. This operation is called a back-to-back mode.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image processing terminal device 340 can be placed on a document on which an original image to be read is recorded, or on a recording medium (10) to be printed. Also,
In this example, the image to be read is not limited to the image on the document (10). Even if the image is a three-dimensional object located far from the image processing terminal device 340, the image is captured as a two-dimensional image. Thus, the image data can be read. Image processing terminal device 340 mounted on an arbitrary plane (10)
Can be automatically driven by a drive mechanism or moved manually on its surface.

Next, a specific configuration and operation of the image processing terminal device 340 will be described. FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the image processing terminal device 340 of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 shows the outline of the configuration of the electric circuit, and FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the image reading optical system and the recording system.

Referring to FIG. 3, the image processing terminal device 340 includes an MPU
(Microprocessor) 222, ROM (read only memory) 223, RAM (random access memory) 224, DMAC (DMA
Controller) 225, INTC (interrupt controller), external interface unit 240, floppy disk drive 227, main drive unit 214, I / O port 230, image reading unit 180, image processing unit 280, image memory
140, a recording unit 160, a display / input unit 100, a display memory 127, an LCD drive 126, a font memory 232, a timing / area signal generating unit 231, a power supply unit 228, and a battery 229.

Note that the system bus 221 includes various signal lines and a power supply line of an address bus, a data bus, and a controller bus. Actually, components such as a bus controller and a clock generator are required.
It is omitted in the figure.

The MPU 222 is a 32-bit microprocessor, and controls the entire image processing terminal device 340 by software processing. Basic operation programs required for the software processing are stored in the ROM 223 in advance.
In addition, various data required for control and special programs that do not exist on the ROM 223 are read and written on the RAM 224 allocated to the working memory area.

The DMAC 225 performs DMA control when another device, for example, the floppy disk drive 227 controls the system bus 221 in place of the MPU 222. Further, the INTC 226 processes interrupt request signals generated by various devices and controls an interrupt operation of the MPU 222. External interface unit
240 connects an external device and the image processing terminal device 340 via the plug 242 or the antenna 243.

The font memory 232 is a ROM in which data indicating a dot pattern of various characters is stored in advance in association with each character code. When a character code is input as image information, it is developed into a bit pattern. Used for

An optical sensor 251, a magnetic sensor 252, and switches 253-258 are connected to the I / O port 230.

The image reading unit 180 includes an imaging module 182. As shown in FIG. 4, the imaging module 182 includes three sets of solid-state imaging units (CCD) 182a, 182b, and 18
2c. Reference numeral 182a includes a group of 2048 imaging elements arranged in one row in the direction of the arrow X, and specifically has a configuration shown in FIG. That is, the solid-state imaging unit 182a operates as a one-dimensional image sensor.
Its spectral sensitivity is substantially uniform, that is, panchromatic. This unit is used particularly when reading an original image at high density as monochrome data.

182b includes 2048 imaging element groups arranged in a line like 182a, and further includes a light receiving unit of these element groups.
Optical filters of bandpasses of R (red), G (green) and B (blue) are repeatedly arranged in order of R, G, B, R, G, B, R. Therefore, the three image sensors can read the color information of one pixel that has been color-separated into R, G, and B, and the 182b can read the color information of 682 pixels in the X-axis direction.

Reference numeral 182c denotes a 1024 × 1024 image sensor group arranged two-dimensionally in the X and Y axis directions, and a bandpass optical filter of R, G and B colors on each light receiving surface of the image sensor. But
R, G, B, R, G, B, R... Are repeatedly arranged in this order.
Therefore, the 182c can read color information of a two-dimensional area of 341 × 341 pixels in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. FIG. 16 shows the structure of the solid-state imaging unit 182c. This unit 182c
Is used to read an image from a three-dimensional subject or a very large document.

These three imaging units are individually controlled by a drive circuit 185 integrated with the imaging module 182. The two imaging units 182a and 182b perform image reading at the same time and output the read image data at the same time. However, while these perform the reading operation, the remaining imaging unit 182c does not perform image reading. When the imaging unit 182c reads an image,
The reading operation of the two imaging units 182a and 182b is not performed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a zoom lens 190 is provided at a position facing the imaging module 182. The imaging module 182 is supported so as to be slidable in the Y-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the position where the optical axis of the optical system including the zoom lens 190 faces the center of the imaging unit 182a, and It can be positioned either at the position facing the center of unit 182c. This positioning is performed by a slide knob 188 provided above the imaging module 182.
Is switched by the operator moving the.

In which position the imaging module 182 exists,
The reflection type optical sensor 251 detects a reflection pattern (not shown) provided on the substrate of the drive circuit 185, thereby identifying the pattern. The identification result is read by the MPU 222.

As shown in FIG. 4, a zooming motor (ZMOT) 195 that can rotate forward and backward is mounted on the outer periphery of the cell of the zoom lens 190. The motor 195 is a servomotor, and includes a rotary encoder that generates two-phase signals for identifying the amount of rotation and the direction of rotation. This motor 195 is connected to the MPU2 via the controller / driver 196.
The zoom lens 190 drives the zoom lens 190 so that the focal length is instructed by the MPU 222.

The zoom lens 190 has a focusing motor 193
Are combined, and according to the position of the subject (10, 20),
Driven to the proper position. This focus adjustment is a so-called autofocus method, and the MPU 222 controls the focusing motor 193 to automatically adjust the position of the lens 190 based on an image captured by the imaging module 182.
The focusing motor 193 is mounted on the outer periphery of the helicoid 191 fixed to the main body 200. The servomotor is a reversible servomotor and includes a rotary encoder that generates a two-phase signal for identifying a rotation amount and a rotation direction.

The optical system includes a fluorescent lamp 194 used for illumination of the document (10) and backlight of the liquid crystal display panel 121, which will be described later. The light amount of the MPU 222 is determined based on the brightness of the image data captured by the imaging module 182.
Is automatically adjusted by controlling the dimming circuit 195.

Referring to FIG. 3, an image processing unit 280 is connected to an output terminal of the image reading unit 180. The image processing unit 280 is a hardware circuit capable of real-time processing of various image processes substantially simultaneously with image reading, and has a configuration as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 6, the image processing unit 280 includes processing units for shading correction, spatial filter, gamma correction, color correction, scaling, shift, dither processing, and trimming. A multiplexer 289 selects data obtained from one of the output of the shading correction unit 285 and the system bus 221 and applies the data to the spatial filter unit 281.

Each unit constituting the image processing unit 280 is controlled by the MPU 222 via the system bus 221. All parameters of image processing can be changed freely.
22 is configured to be arbitrarily set.

Therefore, in image processing such as performing special image processing, only shading correction is performed on the image processing unit 280 on image data read by the imaging module 182, and other parameters are set so that nothing is performed. After storing data in the image memory 140, the MPU 22
It is also possible to perform special image processing by the software processing of 2.

For example, when performing a very high-magnification enlargement or reduction process, the sub-scanning speed of the imaging unit or the recording unit must be significantly increased or decreased. Problems are likely to occur in this respect. In such a case, by using software processing irrespective of the scanning speed, the processing speed is reduced, but high-quality scaling processing is possible.

Spatial filter unit 281, in image processing unit 280,
The gamma correction unit 282, the color correction unit 283, the scaling unit 284, and the dither processing unit 288 each include a plurality of sets of processing circuits. Different parameters can be simultaneously set in these plural sets of processing circuits, and a plurality of types of processing can be executed simultaneously. However, there is only one processing circuit that actually outputs the processing result. The selection of the processing circuit that actually outputs the processing result is performed by the selection circuits SEL1 to SEL5. These selection circuits SEL1 to SEL5 are connected to the system bus 221.
Is connected to the timing / region signal generating unit 231, and the selection state is sequentially switched in accordance with a signal output from the unit 231, that is, in synchronization with the scanning position.

The image memory 140 is a read / write memory having a bitmap configuration for storing image data, and has a storage capacity enough to store an image for one page.

In the scanner mode, the image memory 140 operates as a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data read by the imaging module 182. In this case, the image data stored in the memory is then transferred to an external device, for example, a personal computer 90 via the data bus 221 and the external interface unit 240.

In the printer mode, the image memory 140 temporarily stores image data transferred from, for example, the personal computer 90 via the external interface unit 240. The character code and graphic vector data are written after being converted into bit image data by a predetermined conversion program.

In the copy mode, the read stage operates as a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data read by the imaging module 182, and the recording stage operates as a memory for outputting the stored image data.

As shown in FIG. 3, a recording unit 160 is connected to an output terminal of the image memory 140. The recording unit 160 includes an on-demand type inkjet recording element. In this example, in order to enable full-color printing, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan)
And four ink jet recording heads 161 (black)
Y, 161M, 161C and 161K are provided.

Referring to FIG. 2, pipes 162Y, 162M, 162C and 162K are connected between the recording head of each color and the booth of each color partitioned by the ink tank 165, respectively. Each of the inkjet recording heads has a built-in ink discharge nozzle and a drive circuit. Further, each recording head has X
It has 2048 ink ejection nozzles arranged in one row in the axial direction.

Referring to FIG. 3, the display / input unit 100 includes:
A liquid crystal display panel 121 is provided. This display panel 121
Has a two-dimensionally arranged liquid crystal display element group having a 512 × 512 pixel configuration, and can display a two-dimensional image. Each display element shows a binary change between a transparent state and an opaque state under the control of the display driver 126. Therefore, in a state where all display elements are transparent, the entire surface of the display panel 121 is transparent, and light is transmitted therethrough. That is, even the visible image on the back side of the display panel 121 can be seen from the surface thereof through the panel 121. Display panel 12
If a visible image of something is displayed in a part on 1, it can be seen with the visible image on the back side. In this example, as shown in FIG. 1, the display panel 121 can be placed so as to overlap the surface of the document or the recording medium (10).

Information to be displayed on the display panel 121 is stored in a display memory 127 in a bitmap format composed of a read / write memory. In this embodiment, the display panel 121 includes a reading stage in a scanner mode or a copy mode.
The visible information indicating the reading range on the document and the read image are displayed, and the image to be recorded is displayed on the recording stage in the printer mode or the copy mode. In addition, the display panel 121 displays various guidance messages and marks of key switches for input operations.

The display / input unit 100 includes a display panel 121,
A digitizer device that can read two-dimensional coordinates in the X and Y directions is provided integrally. As shown in FIG. 5, two sets of light emitting diode arrays 102 and 104 and two sets of photodiode arrays 103 and 105 are provided on each of the four sides of the rectangular display panel 124.
Is arranged.

Each of the light emitting diode arrays 102 and 104 has 128 light emitting diodes arranged at equal intervals in a line in the Y and X directions.
103 and 105 each have 128 photodiodes
The light emitting diode array 102 and the photodiode array 103 are opposed to each other in the X direction in the X direction, and the light emitting diode array 102 and the photodiode array 103 are opposed to each other in the X direction. The optical axes face each other in the Y direction. Accordingly, light emitted from the light emitting diode at the n-th position of the light-emitting diode array 102 is received by the photodiode at the n-th position of the photodiode array 103, and light emitted from the light-emitting diode at the m-th position of the light emitting diode array 104. However, light is received by the photodiode at the m-th position of the photodiode array 105. If a light-blocking object such as a finger is present on the display panel 121, the photodiode at the position where light blocked by the light should be received can be detected. Since it disappears, it is possible to know that the light shielding material exists at that position. In this example, the photodiode array 103 can detect the position in the X direction on the display panel 121 with a resolution of 1/128, and the photodiode array 105 can detect the position in the Y direction on the display panel 121 with a resolution of 1/128. Can be detected. Therefore, when a finger or the like is brought close to the display panel 121, the XY coordinates thereof can be detected. Thereby, an input operation can be performed.

The 128 light-emitting diodes are sequentially energized to emit light, and only the photodiode located at a position facing the energized light-emitting diode is identified as to whether or not light is received.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one end of the display / input unit 100 in which the digitizer device and the display panel 121 are integrally formed is connected to a pivot pin 206 of the device main body 200.
The main body 200 is supported so as to be rotatable about it, and is opened from the main body 200 and horizontally placed on the original as shown in each figure, and is closed and shown by a dashed line in FIG. It can be in any of the folded states.

Referring to FIG. 2, a light guide 123 and an optical filter 122 are provided at a position facing the back surface of the display / input unit 100 in a state where the display / input unit 100 is folded. The light guide 123 displays light emitted from the fluorescent lamp 194 on the display panel 12.
It leads to each part of 1 uniformly to realize clear backlight illumination. The optical filter 122 is formed by arranging bandpass filters of R, G, and B in order at the same pitch as the pixel pitch of the display panel 121. Therefore, when the display / input unit 100 is folded, the display panel 1
If three consecutive pixels on 21 are controlled as one set, R, G, B3
The color of the color combination can be displayed for each three pixels, and a color image can be displayed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a ball-shaped motor rotor 211 is exposed on the bottom surface of the apparatus main body. Although only one motor rotor 211 is shown in FIG. 2, another motor rotor 201 (see FIG. 3) is actually provided. The surface of these motor rotors is covered with a rubber material such as chloroprene having a large friction coefficient with respect to a document or paper serving as a recording medium, and the inside thereof is made of a magnetic material.

When the center of the ball is set as the origin of the three-dimensional coordinates, the magnetic material orbits two coordinate axes (that is, the X and Y axes) of the three orthogonal coordinate axes around each coordinate axis and surrounds the origin. In the shape, the position of the peripheral surface of the ball is magnetized in a pattern in which N poles and S poles appear alternately.

212X and 212Y are field coils provided corresponding to the motor rotor 211, and can rotate the motor rotor 211 on the same principle as the stepping motor. 212X and 212Y drive motor rotor 211 to rotate about the Y and X axes, respectively. However, 2
12X and 212Y cannot drive the motor rotor at the same time, and either one selectively drives.
Therefore, the image processing terminal device 340 moves in the X-axis direction when urging 212X, and moves in the Y-axis direction when urging 212Y.

As shown in FIG. 3, the other motor rotor 201 is also provided with two field coils 202X and 202Y. The field coils 202X, 202Y, 212X and 212Y are:
The portion in contact with each motor rotor is coated with a material having a low coefficient of friction such as tetrafluoroethylene.

Around the motor rotor 211, the rotation amount in the X direction (rotation around the Y axis) and the rotation amount in the Y direction (X
Two-phase magnetic rotary encoders 213X and 213Y capable of detecting the amount of rotation around the axis) are provided. Thereby, the rotation amount and the rotation direction in each axial direction can be known. Similarly, around the motor rotor 201, there are provided two-phase magnetic rotary encoders 203X and 203Y capable of detecting the rotation amount in the X direction and the rotation amount in the Y direction, respectively.

The signals output from these encoders are used to detect the amount of movement of the image processing terminal device 340 with respect to the original or the recording medium, and to stabilize the drive control when moving the same by driving the motor rotor. You. The driving of the motor rotors 201 and 211 is controlled by the MPU 222 via the main drive unit 214. Note that these two sets of motors are normally driven to rotate in the same direction and direction, so that when they are driven, the image processing terminal 340
Does not produce a turning motion and always moves linearly in the X or Y direction.

The buttons of the switches 253 to 258 shown in FIG. 3 are exposed at the top of the apparatus main body as shown in FIG. The state of these switches is read by the MPU 222 via the I / O port 230 as needed.

Next, the configuration and operation of the image processing unit 280 will be described in more detail.

FIG. 12 shows the configuration of one set of filters of the spatial filter unit 281. Referring to FIG. 12, the input data is
Data that has been input to Din and has been processed is output to terminal Dout. In FIG. 12, π is a multiplier, aij is a coefficient register, Dij is pixel data, and i and j respectively correspond to the x coordinate and the y coordinate of the pixel. In this example, they are in the range of 1 to 9. . Therefore, the result of arithmetic processing of the two-dimensional pixel group of 81 pixels is output. The following expression (1) shows the contents of the operation.

Dout = Σ (aij × Dij) (1) Each of the 81 coefficient registers aij is an 8-bit latch, and the coefficient held by the register can be arbitrarily set by the MPU 222 via the system bus 221. It has become. By changing the coefficient, the characteristics of this filter can be set arbitrarily. In this example, as shown in FIG. 6, since a plurality of filters are provided in parallel in the spatial filter unit 281, each filter is used for smoothing (smoothing), edge enhancement (improvement of blur), and the like. Suitable characteristics can be set, and mutually different processing results can be obtained at the same time. However, among those processing results, what is actually input to the next gamma correction unit 282 is
At that time, the selection is limited to only one selected by the selection circuit SEL1.

The selection state of the selection circuit SEL1 can be switched in association with the scanning position, and the characteristics of a filter used at a position designated in advance can be switched during reading of one image. Therefore, when reading an image, it is possible to perform an operation of partially smoothing the image and sharpening the other portion on the same image. The instruction to the selection circuit SEL1 is output by the timing / region signal generation unit 231.

The gamma correction unit 282 also includes a plurality of sets of correction circuits. Gamma correction, which is conventionally known, changes the image density, and for example, whitens the background of an image or sets a high key. The MPU 222 can arbitrarily set the characteristics of each of the plurality of correction circuits. One output selected by the selection circuit SEL2 among the plural sets of correction circuits is output to the next-stage color correction unit 283. Select circuit SEL
The selection state of 2 can be switched in association with the scanning position, as in the case of SEL1 described above.

FIG. 13 shows the configuration of a set of correction circuits of the color correction unit 283. Referring to FIG. 13, the input data is R, G and B.
Are applied to terminals D ₁ , D ₂ and D ₃ , respectively, and the processing results are separated for each color into four sets of terminals Do _{1 to} D ₁
o Appears at ₄ . In FIG. 13, π is a multiplier, Σ is an adder, and a kij and b ki are coefficient registers. The content of the coefficient register a kij can be set to any value by the MPU 222 via the bus 221. Further, a plurality of sets of coefficient register matrices are provided, and which of them is used for the actual correction operation can be dynamically selected. For example, a part of the input image data is output in full color as it is, the other part is made monochromatic, the other part is converted from red to blue, or the specific density part of the monochrome original is changed to a specific color. Processing such as pseudo-color conversion is possible.

One set of circuits of the variable power unit 284 has a configuration in which two circuits shown in FIG. 14 are connected in series. The first circuit performs scaling in the main scanning direction (X direction), and the second circuit performs scaling in the sub-scanning direction (Y direction). The circuit shown in FIG. 14 performs interpolation of pixels during enlargement or thinning out of unnecessary pixels caused by reduction.

In FIG. 14, π indicates a multiplier and Σ indicates an adder.
The input image data continues in time series, and Dix ₁ , Dix ₂ , Dix ₃ , D
When the value of the coefficient register selected when ix ₄ (x is one of three types of input) becomes a s1, a s2, a s3, a s4 (s is 16 types of selection), The contents are as shown in the following equation (2).

Do = Σasj × Dixj (2) The shift unit 186 moves the position of the read image in the X direction or the Y direction.

The dither processing unit 288 is a circuit for converting into binary data including 8-bit input grayscale data pseudo halftone information. In this example, a plurality of sets of circuits are provided in parallel. Conversion parameters can be set independently for each circuit. One of the processing results is the selection circuit SE
The selection is made by L5 and applied to the next trimming unit 287.

Also, the trimming unit 287 blanks the input data (converts it into data equivalent to white) for the specified area. A signal indicating the area division is output from the timing / area signal generation unit 231.

FIG. 10 shows the configuration of the timing / region signal generation unit 231. FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 show the timings of the main signals. First, refer to FIG. The oscillator OSC generates a basic clock CLK0. This basic clock is the basis for generating other signals.

The signal CLKBR is a monochrome and color imaging unit 182a,
182b is used as a signal indicating the timing of each pixel when image data is shifted in the X direction (main scanning direction) in pixel units and read out, and the four recording heads 161 are used.
K, 161C, 161M, and 161Y are used as clock pulses indicating the timing of each pixel when performing a printing operation. Furthermore,
CLKBR is also used as a clock indicating the timing of pixels when a monochrome image is processed by the image processing unit 280. CLKCR is an imaging unit 182 that outputs a color image.
This is a clock indicating one unit timing when the output data of b is written to the image memory 140, and has a frequency of 1/3 of CLKBR.

LSYNC is a main scanning synchronization signal that outputs one pulse per main scanning line. During one LSYNC cycle, CLKBR
More than 2048 pulses appear. HGATE is a main scanning gate signal, and a period during which this signal is H indicates a valid period of main scanning. During that period, 2048 pulses of CLKBR appear.

RVGATE is a gate signal in the sub-scanning direction of the reading scan of the imaging module 182, and during a period of H, the number of LSYNC pulses appears as many as the number of pixels in the sub-scanning direction. This time tay is changed in accordance with the reading scanning length in the sub-scanning direction, and this change is performed by the gate signal generator VGG.
Is adjusted by the MPU 222.

WBVGATE, WCVGATE, and WMVGATE are signals that regulate the recordable periods of the recording heads 161K, 161C, 161M, and 161Y, respectively. These four signals are shifted in phase from each other by t1, t2, and t3 as shown in FIG. This is because the four recording heads are arranged at positions shifted from each other in the sub-scanning direction, and the positional shift amounts and the phase shifts t1, t2,
t3 and t3 correspond to each other.

The image data of each color applied from the image memory 140 to the recording heads 161K, 161C, 161M, and 161Y is controlled so as to synchronize with each gate signal. That is, the ejection of the inks of the C, M, and Y inks starts with a delay of t1, t2, and t3, respectively, as compared with the K ink. Therefore, the K, C, M, and Y inks can be recorded in the same position on the recording medium on which the image is printed.

The counter XC1 counts pulses generated for each pixel to generate scanning position information in the X-axis direction, and the counter YC1 counts the synchronization signal LSYNC to generate scanning position information in the Y-axis direction.

The area memory AM identifies various areas specified by the operator and, when the scanning position is in a predetermined area, selects each of the selection circuits SEL1 to SEL5 in the image processing unit 280.
A selection signal is applied to the trimming unit 287.

As shown in FIG. 10, the area memory AM has addresses A0 to An, and is a read / write memory in which one word arranged at one address is composed of 64 bits. The MPU 222 can be arbitrarily rewritten via the bus 221. Each word consists of a high-order 12-bit part du (du0 to dun) and an intermediate 12-bit part dm (dm0 to dn).
mn) and the lower 40-bit portion dl (dl0 to dln), the memory of du is allocated to position data in the sub-scanning direction, the memory of dm is allocated to position data in the main scanning direction, and the memory of dl Are assigned to the selection signal data. Further, 40 bits of dl are used for selecting circuits SEL1, SEL2, SEL3, S
Six bits are allocated to EL4 and SEL5, respectively, and the remaining 10 bits are allocated to the trimming unit 287.

That is, since 12 bits are respectively allocated to the data indicating the position in the X direction and the Y direction of the processing area,
It is possible to set 96 × 4096 types of positions as processing regions, and even if one position is assigned to one pixel, it is twice as large as the reading width (number of pixels) of the imaging unit 182a. Any area on the image can be specified.

In addition, since 6 bits are assigned to the selection circuits SEL1, SEL2, SEL3, SEL4, and SEL5, respectively, 32 selections can be made.

The data of each word written to the area memory AM is
The area is designated and arranged in order at addresses A0 to An so that the value of the position of the area specified by the area gradually increases.

Address for reading data from area memory AM (A0 to A
n) is specified by two counters XC2 and YC2 that function as address pointers. After the contents of the counters XC2 and YC2 are first cleared, the value of XC2 is stored in the area memory A.
When the comparison result of the comparator CP2 between the value read from the dm of M (the position in the X direction) and the scan position in the X direction matches, the value of YC2 is read from du of the area memory AM. When the comparison result of the comparator CP1 between the calculated value (Y direction area position) and the Y direction scanning position matches, the count is incremented, whereby the address designation of the area memory AM is updated. That is, the contents of the area memory AM are sequentially read from the addresses A0 to An as the image reading scan progresses. Every time the read address of the area memory is changed, the data output to the selection circuits SEL1 to SEL5 and the trimming unit 287 changes, so that the content of the image processing is changed.

Therefore, if the sub-scanning position and the main scanning position of the position where the content of the image processing is changed are sequentially written in du and dm of the area memory, the pointer is updated each time the scanning position reaches the image processing change position. Then, data for new image processing is read out, and the contents of the processing are automatically changed.

FIG. 17 shows an outline of the operation of the MPU 222. Hereinafter, the operation will be described with reference to FIG.

The MPU 222 is constantly supplied with power, and is in a suspended state (step P1) so that the program can be executed at any time. Here, the suspension state means that the MPU 222 is in the halt state.

The display / input unit is manually operated by the operator.
When the 100 is opened from the closed state shown by the dashed line in FIG. 2 to the state shown by the solid line, the magnetic sensor 251 detects a change in the position of the permanent magnet provided in the unit 100, and the interrupt controller 22
Apply an interrupt signal to 6. In response to the interrupt signal, the interrupt controller 226 generates an interrupt signal to the MPU 222. When receiving an interrupt signal in the halt state, the MPU 222 automatically releases the halt state and automatically shifts to the run state.

When the MPU 222 enters a run state, that is, a state in which a program is executed, the process first enters standby processing (P2).

To change the running MPU 222 to the suspended state,
What is necessary is just to close the input unit 100 to the state shown by the dashed line in FIG. In that case, the magnetic sensor 251 issues an interrupt signal to the interrupt controller 226, and the interrupt controller 226 responds by applying an interrupt signal to the MPU 222. Accordingly, the MPU 222 executes a predetermined interrupt service program, executes a halt instruction therein, and shifts to a halt state.

Note that when the display / input unit 100 is closed while the button of the switch 258 is being pressed, shifting to the halt state is prohibited. In this case, the display / input unit 10
0 can be used as a color display.

In the standby process (P2), the status of the entire device is monitored,
Processing such as shifting to a suspended state is performed.

In Step P3, it is checked whether or not image data exists in the image memory 140. If there is, the next step P4 is executed. That is, the image data on the image memory 140 is displayed on the display panel 121. Specifically, the image data is written on the display memory 127. However, since the pixel resolution of the display panel 121 and the pixel size of the image to be displayed do not have a one-to-one correspondence, the data in the image memory 140 is stored in the display memory Write to 127. The image data written on the display memory 127 is processed by the LCD drive 126 hardware.
It is automatically displayed on the display panel 121.

The operation of writing the image data in the image memory 140 into the display memory 127 is actually performed using the DMA controller 225 in order to reduce the processing time.

In step P5, various pieces of guidance information required in the standby state are displayed on the display panel 121.

The content of the display screen on the display panel 121 at the time when Step P5 is completed is as shown in FIG. 18 when image data exists on the image memory 140, and when no image data exists, for example, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.

In FIGS. 18 and 19, a square mark 12 is used.
Reference numerals 1d to 121h denote areas assigned to key switches on the display / input unit 100, for example, by touching each position with a finger, the fact that there was an input at that position is read by the digitizer device. Can be And MPU222
Executes the function of the key switch assigned to the position upon detecting the input.

A key switch formed on this type of display / input unit 100 will be referred to as a soft key in this specification.

In FIG. 19, reference numeral 121b denotes an image displayed on the panel, and reference numeral 121a denotes a display of a rectangular frame indicating a range where valid image data exists.

FIG. 20 shows a display / input unit 100 on which an image is displayed.
Is placed on the recording medium (10) on which the picture 10c is printed, and the display / input unit 100 is viewed from above. Referring to FIG. 20, the display / input unit
The pattern 10c of the recording medium located below 100 is displayed on the display panel 12
You can see that it looks over the display on the panel through 1.

The mark of the arrow 121ay displayed on the display panel 121 in FIG. 20 indicates that only a part of the image data present on the image memory 140 is actually displayed on the display panel 121, and the remaining display is possible in the direction of the arrow. Indicates that an image exists. In the example of FIG. 20, an image to be further displayed remains at the bottom of the display screen.

In order to see the contents of the remaining image information in the state shown in FIG. 20, the image processing terminal device must be connected to a recording medium or a document (10).
The device may be moved downward while being placed on the top.
In this case, since the apparatus moves while the motor rotors 201 and 211 are in contact with the recording medium or the surface of the document, the motor rotor 20
1, 211 rotate as the apparatus moves. The rotation of these motor rotors is
Since X, 203Y, 213X, and 213Y are detected, the MPU 222 can know the moving direction and the moving amount of the device.

When detecting the movement of the device, the MPU 222 controls the data in the display memory 127 according to the movement amount, and scrolls the image 121b displayed on the display panel 121 toward the opposite side of the movement direction of the device, The content of the remaining undisplayed image data is displayed in the area on the display panel where a new image can be displayed.

FIG. 21 shows the appearance of the display panel after movement when the device is slightly moved to the lower part of the screen from the state of FIG. No.
Referring to FIG. 21, since the entire device has moved downward,
Picture 10 under the device and visible through the display panel
c moves upward with respect to the screen, and the entire frame 121a and image 121b displayed on the display panel 121 also move toward the top of the screen.

It should be noted here that the positional relationship between the frame 121a and the image 121b displayed on the display panel 121 and the pattern 10c is the second.
That is, there is no change between FIG. 0 and FIG. That is,
Even if the image processing terminal device is moved, the positional relationship between the print image seen through the display panel and the display image on the display panel does not change. Therefore, for example, even when the image to be recorded is considerably larger than the size of the display panel 121, only a part of the actual size image is displayed on the display panel 121, and the image displayed while moving the apparatus is displayed. By updating the area, it is possible to accurately confirm whether or not the entire large image is aligned with the print image (10c) on the recording medium.

If the position is not correct, the image processing terminal device may be lifted from the paper surface of the recording medium and floated and moved with respect to the paper surface. In this case, even when the apparatus is moved, neither of the two motor rotors 201 and 211 rotates, so that the MPU 222 does not scroll the display content, and the print image (10c) on the recording medium and the display image on the display panel 121 are not displayed. The positional relationship with the image can be changed. The image processing terminal device can be moved manually, but since the motor rotor can be driven as described above, the device can be made to run by itself. Here, the vertical direction (Y-axis direction) of the display panel has been described, but the display image is also scrolled in the horizontal direction (X-axis direction) in accordance with the movement of the device.

This image processing terminal device is roughly divided into a scanner mode,
A printer mode and a copy mode are provided, and these can be selectively used. In the standby state described above, the user operates a switch button (including a soft key) of the apparatus or a personal computer connected to the outside.
When a predetermined operation request signal is input from 90, the mode shifts to the various modes described above. This mode identification is performed in step P6 in FIG.

If a print request command has been received from the personal computer 90, the process proceeds to step P11. In Step P11, print specifications and data of an image to be printed are received. The received data is shared by the image memory 140
Is written to. When the data reception and the writing to the memory are completed, the next step P12 is executed.

In Step P12, the image data is converted into data that can be recorded by the recording head 161 according to the print specifications. For example, since a character is received as code information, a bit pattern of the character corresponding to the character code is developed using the font memory 232, and the result is stored in the image memory 140. The received data and the image data expanded into the bit pattern are stored in different address areas on the image memory 140. Therefore, the code data is also stored as it is.

In Step P13, the bit pattern image data existing on the image memory 140 is written into the display memory 127.
This writing is performed at high speed using DMA.

When Step P13 ends, the display on the display panel 121 will be, for example, as shown in FIG. 19 or FIG. 20 described above. In this case, five soft keys 121d, 121e, 121f, 121 are displayed on the screen.
g and 121h are displayed.

Step P14 shows the operation of the operator, where the operator performs alignment between the image and the recording medium. When the image is too large to fit on the screen, as described above, the displayed image is scrolled by moving the image processing terminal device so that the position of each part of the entire image matches the position of each part of the recording medium. You can check whether it is. The display panel 121 displays the image in the actual size at the time of recording. However, since the pixel density of the display panel is lower than the pixel density during recording, the quality of the displayed image is slightly inferior to the recorded image.

In Step P15, the flow waits for an input operation to be performed on the soft key 121h on the display screen. When there is an input, the process proceeds to the next step 16.

In step 16, printing is actually performed on the recording medium. What is important here is that the recording is performed exactly as registered in step 14, that is, in such a manner that the display position of the image on the display panel 121 and the position of the recording medium located thereunder coincide.

In step 16, the MPU 222 first controls the main drive unit 214 to drive the motor rotors 201 and 211 to move the entire image processing terminal device along the surface of the recording medium in the Y-axis direction. Then, the recording axis of the black recording head 161K is positioned so as to coincide with the leading end position of the display image before the apparatus is moved (in FIG. 20, the broken line portion above 121e). Positioning in this case is executed by controlling the distance from the position of the recording head 161K to the position of the front end of the display image on the display panel so that the movement distance detected by the rotary encoder matches.

When the positioning is completed, the MPU 222
Data output command for 0, recording heads 161K, 161C, 161M,
Recording start command for 161Y, main drive unit 21
A constant speed traveling command in the Y direction is output to the control unit 4 via the bus 221.

Here, when the X direction is referred to as a main scanning direction and the Y direction is referred to as a sub-scanning direction, the motor rotators 201 and 211 cause the apparatus to travel at a constant speed in the sub-scanning direction. Also, the recording heads 161K, 161C, 16
Each of 1M and 161Y has 2048 nozzles arranged in the main scanning direction. Therefore, a two-dimensional image of 2048 × n pixels of each color can be recorded by each recording head.

Recording is performed for each line of the main scanning, and recording for each of the 2048 pixels is performed serially in each line. When recording of one line is completed, the image processing terminal device moves by one pixel in the sub-scanning direction and moves to recording of the next one line.

During this recording operation, the image to be recorded is displayed on the display panel 121, and the displayed contents are moved with the movement of the apparatus.
It is displayed in the same manner as in step P14. However, the display position in this case is scrolled according to the position currently recorded on the image.

In Step P17, since the printing operation has been completed, the completion status is transmitted to the external personal computer 90.

When a scan request command is received from the personal computer 90, the process first proceeds to Step P21. In P21, the data of the applied scan specification is received. This data is written on the image memory 140.

In the next step P22, the received scan specification data is decrypted, and processing according to the data is performed. For example, it sets various processing parameters of the image processing unit 280, and sets contents of the area memory of the timing / area signal generation unit 231.

In Step P23, a process similar to that in Step P13 described above is performed.

The simplest scan specification is for reading the entire range of the display surface of the display panel 121. The display on the display panel 121 in that case is as shown in FIG. In the case of a scan specification including a request for trimming a variable circular area (reading only the inside of the area), a screen as shown in FIG. 23 is displayed, for example. In the example of FIG. 23, the image of the portion inside the circular broken mark 121a indicating the range of the area is extracted and read. Note that 121b1 and 121b2 are soft keys for instructing reduction and enlargement of the diameter of the mark 121a, respectively.

Step P24 shows the operation of the operator, where the operator performs alignment between the apparatus and the document,
The reading area is set. If the simplest scan specifications for reading the entire range of the display surface of the display panel 121 are set, simply align them so that the image to be read on the original is within the display surface of the display panel. You just need to do

If the scan specifications include trimming of a specific area, or if a special area specification that requires special image processing is included, the image In addition, it is necessary to further finely align the actual size area display marks indicating the processing areas displayed on the display panel so as to coincide with each other.

Further, the scan specification may include a specification that requests an operator to specify an area. In that case, it is necessary to input coordinates using a digitizer of the image processing terminal device and specify an area. Further, the scan specification may include only the basic shape as the information of the area. In this case, since the basic shape is displayed on the display panel 121, it is necessary to perform an operation of deforming the basic shape with a soft key and designating an area.

When the scan specification is variable circular trimming, for example, the result is as shown in FIG. In this example, sentence 10a
And a state where the apparatus is placed on the original (10) on which the elliptical pattern 10b is printed. Here, for example, when the size of the trimming is to be enlarged, an input operation (touch) may be performed on the soft key 121b associated with the enlargement operation. As a result, as shown in FIG. 25, the size of the circular broken line indicating the area is enlarged.

Alignment between the document and the image processing terminal device can be performed by moving the device on the document, as in the case of step P14 described above.

The reading range specified by the scan specifications is displayed on the display panel 121.
When the display area is larger than the display range of, that is, when the entire reading area cannot be
The display shown in Fig. 6 appears. Here, the arrow display 121a
Indicates a reading range, 121ax indicates that the reading range is further expanded in the right direction (X direction) than the display range, and 121ay indicates that the reading range is further lower than the display range (Y direction). Indicates that it is spreading. Reference numeral 121s denotes a mark indicating a range of a designated area in which more special image processing is performed in the reading range (121a). 121sy1 and 12
1sy2 indicates that the range of the area does not fit on the display. Here, the special image processing means, for example, changing the sharpness, the tone of the density gradation, the color tone, the image displacement, the dither pattern, and the like for other areas. These image processings are processed in real time by the image processing unit 280 at the time of image reading.

In some cases, a scan specification in which a reading range is arbitrarily specified is set. In that case, the MPU 222 stores the pattern and the RAM 224 that exist in advance as the fixed area shape data on the ROM 223.
The pattern existing as the user-defined area shape data is displayed on the display panel 121. In that case, for example, the second
The screen shown in Fig. 7 is displayed.

In FIG. 27, 121i, 121j, 121k, and 121l are patterns of a fixed area shape, and 121n is a pattern of a user-defined area shape. These display patterns indicate the range of a region to be subjected to trimming or special image processing. Soft keys are formed at the positions of the respective display patterns.

When these soft keys are operated once,
The area pattern at that position is picked up, and when the second input operation is performed, the area is fixed in a similar shape to that position. 121m shows the result after one area pattern 121n is picked up and the setting of the position and the shape is completed. In the case of specifying an area such as 121m, an input mode for directly specifying an area may be used without using the basic area shape displayed on the screen as a menu. That is, for example, if the fingertip is moved so as to draw a locus of a required area pattern while keeping the fingertip in the reading area of the digitizer, an area is set in the locus portion. The shape of the region set in this way can be registered in the RAM 224 as a user-defined region shape and used again later.

As for the area shape pattern soft key, if another key 121e is input before the second input operation, the picked up area pattern is rotated by 15 degrees. For example, after picking up the pattern 121l, the area shape pattern 121b is operated by inputting the soft key 121e six times, and
Obtained by rotating it by degrees.

Also, without picking up any area shape pattern,
When two points are input, a quadrangular area having these two points as diagonals is set. In FIG. 27, 121a corresponds to 121ap1.
The range of the area set when two points of 121ap2 are input is shown.

Given a given input for these regions, the result is immediately calculated at MPU 222. Then, the MPU 222 sets various image processing parameters for the image processing unit 280, and sets the timing / region signal generation unit 231.
Of the contents of the area memory in the server. When these settings are all completed, image reading can be started at any time.

Even for an area larger than the inputtable range of the display / input unit 100, the image can be read by designating the area with the image processing terminal device. The operation in that case will be described.

First, one point p1 is input in the state shown in FIG. 19a. That is, the position of p1 is touched with a fingertip, for example. In that case, MPU222
Identifies whether the point p1 belongs to the left, right, up, or down with respect to the center of the display panel, and toward a half area that does not belong, the line segment mark 121ax, indicating the range of the area from that point p1.
Draw 121ay.

Thereafter, when the operator moves the image processing terminal device in contact with the document, a screen such as that shown in FIG. 29b is displayed. Note that reference numeral 10a in FIG. 29b denotes a printed pattern on the document.
Next, when the point p2 shown in FIG. 29c is input, the display on the screen changes as shown in FIG. 29d, and the line segments 121ax and 121ay indicating the range of the fixed rectangular reading area appear.

When special image processing is to be performed on a specific area in the reading area set as described above, the following operation is further performed. First, the position of the image processing terminal device is returned to the initial state, the screen shown in FIG. 29a is displayed, and two points p3 and p4 are input in this state. Next, the apparatus is moved again, and the point p5 is input on the screen shown in FIG. 29c. As a result, as shown in FIG. 29d, a rectangular frame 121S indicating the range of the set area is displayed.

The operator can arbitrarily select the content of the image processing in the area indicated by the frame 121S by operating the soft key 121g. That is, when an input operation is performed on 121g, the display up to that point is deleted, and a “partial image processing content selection screen” (not shown) is displayed on the display panel 121. When this screen is displayed, it is possible to interactively select the image processing content in the designated area. After this operation, the user can return to the original screen state by inputting a screen return soft key displayed on the screen. If a soft key for starting reading is input, the process can immediately shift to the reading operation in the next step P26.

Note that a special area for image processing can be set inside the area to be trimmed.

In Step P25, the control waits for an input operation of the soft key 121h. If there is an input, the process proceeds to step P26.

In step P26, an image is actually read according to the scan specifications set in the processing up to that time. What is important here is that there is no displacement between the designated reading position and the position of the image to be actually read.

Specifically, when a special reading area is not specified, the image of the area on the original which is opposed to the part inside the display / input enabled range of the display / input unit 100 at the time of alignment is read. Is important, and when the reading area is specified, it is important to read the image of the area on the document facing the range of the frame indicating the rectangular reading range displayed on the screen during alignment. If a special area for performing further trimming or image processing is specified in the reading area, the image may be misaligned with respect to the image of the area on the document facing the frame indicating the range of the area. Without trimming or image processing.

In this embodiment, at the time of alignment, the printed image on the document and the display such as the frame indicating the area on the display panel 121 appear to be overlapped, so that the alignment is accurate, and the image is actually read from that time. Until a slip or the like occurs between the apparatus and the document during this time, there is no danger of misalignment.

If the size of the set reading area is equal to or smaller than the size of the display panel 121, the MPU 222 determines that the conjugate point between the imaging unit 182a and the lens 190 is
Is given to the main drive unit 214 so as to move to the position of the edge in the sub-scanning direction (above 121 in FIG. 18).

Also, the size of the set reading area is determined by the display panel 12.
If the size is larger than 1, the MPU 222 moves the conjugate point between the imaging unit 182a and the lens 190 to the position of the edge of the frame (121ax in FIG. 26) indicating the range displayed on the display panel 121. The main drive unit
Give to 214.

The main drive unit 214 includes motor rotors 201 and 211.
To control the apparatus such that the amount of rotation detected by the rotary encoder matches the specified amount of movement, thereby positioning the apparatus at a predetermined position.

This alignment is completed, and the main drive unit 214
Applies a completion signal to the MPU 222, the MPU 222 sends an imaging start command to the imaging drive circuit 185 and an image processing unit 280.
A command to start processing, a command to input data to the image memory 140, and a command to drive the main drive unit 214 at a constant speed in the Y direction are applied via the system bus 221.

Here, when the X direction is referred to as a main scanning direction and the Y direction is referred to as a sub-scanning direction, the motor rotators 201 and 211 cause the apparatus to travel at a constant speed in the sub-scanning direction. In addition, the element group at each pixel position of the imaging units 182a and 182b is arranged in 2048 pixels in the main scanning direction. Therefore, if the apparatus is moved by n pixels by sub-scanning, a two-dimensional image of 2048 × n pixels can be read during that time.

Image reading is performed for each line of main scanning in synchronization with the signal LSYNC. In each line, 2048 pixels are sequentially read in synchronization with the pixel synchronization signal CLKBR. The read data is subjected to image processing by the image processing unit 280, and then transferred to the image memory 140 and written.

In the image memory 140, the bit configuration of the word of the access unit is variable. For monochrome image data, 8 bits per word, for R, G, B color image data, 24 bits per word, C , M, Y, K color image data has a structure of 32 bits per word.

The process of step P26 is continued until the sub-scanning end position is reached and the images in all the reading areas have been read. Also, during this reading operation, the display of various areas displayed on the display panel 121 is scroll-displayed with the sub-scanning of the apparatus. Further, the contents of the read image are also displayed in real time on the display panel 121 sequentially from the line where the image processing and the writing to the image memory have been completed. Therefore, the operator can immediately see and confirm the result of the reading for a part of the image that has been read without waiting for the scanning of the entire reading range to be completed. If the expected result is not obtained, the reading can be stopped by operating a switch.

Next, several operation examples regarding image reading will be described.

In the example of FIG. 27, a frame 121 indicating the range of each processing region
The trimming range is set by a, 121b, and 121m. When an input operation is performed on the soft key 121h in this state, image reading is started. As a result, the screen shown in FIG. 28 is displayed. When comparing FIG. 27 and FIG. 28,
It can be seen that only the area specified in each of the frames 121a, 121b, and 121m has been extracted as valid image data. In addition,
Information of the frames 121a, 121b, 121m is stored in the RAM 224,
It is separated from the image data on the image memory 140.

In the example of FIG. 30a, the processing content is specified so that a predetermined color conversion is performed in a portion of a frame 121a indicating the range of the processing area. In FIG.30a, 10b, 10c, 10d and 10x are:
Each is a printed image on the document (10), visible through the display panel. In the state shown in FIG.
When an input operation is performed on h, image reading is started, and as a result, a screen shown in FIG. 30b is displayed. The read image 121b1 shown in FIG. 30b is different in color from the image 10b on the document.

In the example shown in FIG. 31a, an arbitrary designation command is received from the personal computer 90, and settings are made so that the operator performs different image processing in arbitrary plural regions. Specifically, the gamma correction unit 282 sets the low key in the portion of the frame 121a indicating the region, and the color correction unit 183 sets the color conversion in the portion of the frame 121b.
In the part of 21 m, it is set so that the thinning processing is performed by the spatial filter unit 281, and in the other part, it is set so that standard image processing is performed. When an input operation is performed on the soft key 121h in the state of FIG. 31a, image reading is started, and as a result, a screen shown in FIG. 31b is displayed.

In the above description, the movement of the image processing terminal device in the image reading and printing operations is all performed by the motor rotor.
201, 211 The case where the apparatus is driven magnetically and the apparatus is self-propelled has been described, but when such self-propelling is performed, the power consumption is large, so the image processing terminal apparatus uses a battery as a power source, and a host computer. In situations where power cannot be obtained from the device, the usable time of the device is greatly limited.

Therefore, when power consumption is desired to be suppressed, the apparatus is configured to stop the self-propelled operation and to perform movement by a manual operation of an operator. In this case, information indicating the moving position and direction is displayed on the display panel 121.

In Step P27, since the image reading operation has been completed, the completion status is sent to the external personal computer (host computer) 90.

When the operator presses the button of the switch 255, the mode enters the file mode and the process proceeds to Step P31. In this step,
In order to wait for operator's instructions on file operation,
A menu screen is displayed on the display panel 121. This menu screen includes information for selecting whether to transfer image data from the disk 80 to the image memory 140 or to transfer data from the image memory 140 to the disk 80.

In Step P32, the operator inputs a file name and the like.

In step P33, for the two soft keys (save and load) displayed on the display panel 121, it is checked whether or not those input operations have been performed.
Proceed to step P34, and if there is a load input,
Proceed to step P35.

In Step P34, processing is performed to transfer the image data on the image memory 140 to the disk 80 and save it. This step also includes a process for compressing the data.

In step 35, the image data stored on the disk 80 is transferred to the image memory 140. The compressed data is written into the image memory 140 after the data is expanded.

Next, the case of the copy mode will be described. There are two types of copy modes. One is a mode using one image processing terminal device, and the other is a back-to-back mode using two image processing terminal devices. When the wired interfaces 242 of the two image processing terminal devices are connected by a cable, they are identified by a program in the ROM 223, and the back-to-back mode is automatically activated. The copy mode is roughly divided into three steps of setting a reading mode, executing a reading operation, and executing a recording (printing) operation. However, in the back-to-back mode, one performs a reading operation and the other performs a printing operation simultaneously. In the back-to-back mode, one is substantially the same as the scanner mode and the other is the same as the printer mode, and the description thereof is omitted. Hereinafter, the normal copy mode will be described.

When the button of the switch 254 is pressed, the process proceeds to Step P41. In this step, a menu screen for setting the copy mode is displayed on display panel 121. This screen is shown in FIG. 11a. In FIG. 11a, 121d is sharpness adjustment, 121e is gradation adjustment, 121c is color adjustment, 121g is magnification adjustment,
Reference numeral 121j denotes a position adjustment (shift), and 121k denotes soft keys assigned to the area processing settings.

For example, when an input operation is performed on the soft key 121k, operations such as trimming, specification of a processing area, and setting of image processing contents as shown in FIG. 27 can be performed.

Note that referring to FIG. 31 regarding the input of the specific area, if the soft key 121e is input after the input of the area,
In a process that can be selected for each image processing step, for example, in a gamma correction processing step, a selection menu appears in a high-contrast, low-contrast, high-key, low-key manner, and can be input in association with an area.

For example, when the soft key 121e is input, the eleventh
The gradation setting screen shown in b is displayed, and the gradation is displayed with the touch mark 121ad.
Standard characteristics by touching j +, 121adj-, 121adjs
Any property 121adj can be set from 121st. Reference numeral 121i denotes a soft key for returning to the original screen (FIG. 11a), and reference numeral 121b denotes a soft key for starting image reading.

Step P42 represents the input operation of the operator using the menu screen.

In step P43, the copy specifications set in P42 are calculated and developed, processing parameters are set in the image processing unit 280, and when trimming or area processing is performed, data is written to the area memory of the timing / area signal generation unit 231. Put in.

Step P51 is a step that is executed when the soft key 121h is touched on the screen of FIG. 31a, and executes a reading operation in the same manner as in the above-described step P26. The image data read for each main scan is subjected to image processing in the image processing unit 280, converted into print data, and stored in the image memory 140. At the same time, data suitable for display is calculated and calculated by the MPU 222 and written into the display memory 127.

Step P61 is processing for executing a print operation. Here, for example, the screen shown in FIG. 22 appears. This screen is a screen in which the read image 121a corresponding to the image data existing in the image memory 140 and a plurality of soft keys are displayed on the display panel 121 after reading according to the specifications set in Step P41 and performing image processing. is there.

One of these soft keys is a key to start recording
It is 121h, and if you touch it, the image memory
Image data is sent from 140 to the recording head 160, and a printing operation is performed. That is, an image substantially the same as the display image on the display panel 121 is recorded on the recording medium immediately below the display position. Again, what is important is that the image is recorded on the recording medium as a permanent visible image as seen by the operator on the display means.

Therefore, for example, when there is a preprint such as a ruled line in the recording medium in advance, the recording position can be properly adjusted. The position can be adjusted by lifting, releasing, and moving the mounting device from the recording medium.

Further, even when the recording range is larger than the display panel 121, the screen is scrolled by moving the recording medium and the apparatus without separating, so that it is possible to confirm the protrusion of the recording image and the deviation of the recording position before recording. .

The remaining soft keys on the menu screen are keys for re-image processing, and when these keys are touched, a menu screen for re-image processing appears. The re-image processing is to re-image the image data in the image memory 140 that has been read once. For example, when an image intended by the operator does not appear on the display panel 121, or a plurality of recorded images obtained by slightly modifying a single image read from a document (image processing). If it is desired to obtain the original image, it is not necessary to repeatedly read the original image, so the image data on the image memory 140 is reused, and it is processed again by the image processing unit.
The processing result is output as a recorded image.

The menu screen for re-image processing is the same as the menu screen in step P41. That is, sharpness adjustment,
Tone adjustment, density adjustment, color adjustment, scaling adjustment, trimming, and the like can be set by the operator. The re-image processing specification set here is subjected to arithmetic processing by the MPU 222, and subsequently sets processing parameters in the image processing unit 280, and when there is a trimming area setting, the area is stored in the area memory of the timing / area signal generating unit 231. Write the data. Thereafter, the DMA controller 225 sets the predetermined address in the image memory 140 as the transfer source address and the address of the multiplexer 289 of the image processing unit 280 as the transfer destination address, and causes the DMA controller 225 to execute the DMA data transfer. Thereby, the image data is subjected to the image processing again, and is displayed again on the display panel 121.

In the above embodiment, a liquid crystal display is used as the display means. However, other display means such as an electrochromic display device can be used as long as the display means has a property of transmitting light. Further, in the embodiment, a non-contact optical reader is used as a device for reading coordinates on the display means. However, if the light transmission on the display means is not prevented, another coordinate input device is used. Is also good. For example, an input device in which pressure-sensitive electrodes are arranged between transparent sheets and coordinates of a pressed position are detected can be used.

[Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, visible information (for example, 121a in FIG. 20) indicating the range of a processing area to be image-processed is displayed on a light-transmissive display unit that is placed on a document in an overlapping manner. Is displayed, the operator, from above the display means, visible information,
It is possible to simultaneously see the image on the document which is seen through and overlapped with the display means, and the position of the image on the document and the reading range or the image processing area can be extremely accurately adjusted. Moreover, when the image reading assembly is moved, the position of the visible information on the display means changes accordingly, so that the size of the reading range displayed on the display means is larger than the size of the display means. It is also possible to see the correspondence between the reading range and the position of the image on the document over the entire reading range. In other words, even when reading an image larger than the display means,
By referring to the visible information on the display means while moving the image reading assembly, it is possible to accurately confirm the result of the alignment between the reading range or the image processing area and the image on the document.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a system using a device 340 embodying the present invention in use. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are a front view and a block diagram, respectively, showing the configuration of the device 340 of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the reading optical system and the recording system of the apparatus 340. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the display / input unit 100. FIG. 6 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the image processing unit 280. 7, 8, and 9 are time charts showing the operation timing of the device 340. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the timing / region signal generation unit 231. 11a and 11b are plan views showing display contents on the display panel 121. FIG. 12, 13, and 14 are block diagrams each showing a part of the configuration of the spatial filter unit 281, the color correction unit 283, and the scaling unit 284 in the image processing unit 280. FIG. 15 and FIG. 16 are block diagrams showing the configurations of the imaging units 182a and 182c, respectively. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the device 340. FIG. 18, FIG. 19, FIG. 20, FIG. 21, FIG. 22, FIG.
24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29a, 2
9b, 29c, 29d, 30a, 30b, 31a, and 31b are plan views showing the appearance of the display / input unit 100 including the visible information displayed on the display panel 121. It is. 10: manuscript (or recording medium), 90: personal computer 100: display / input unit 102, 104: light emitting diode array 103, 105: photodiode array 121: liquid crystal display panel (display means) 123: light guide, 126: LCD drive 127: display Memory, 140: Image memory 160: Recording unit, 180: Image reading unit 182: Imaging module (imaging means) 190: Zoom lens, 194: Fluorescent lamp 201, 211: Motor rotor 202X, 202Y, 212X, 212Y: Field coil 203X , 203Y, 213X, 213Y: rotary encoder (movement amount detecting means) 214: main drive unit 221: system bus, 222: MPU (display control means) 223: ROM, 224: RAM 225: DMA controller, 226: interrupt controller 227 : Floppy disk drive 230: I / O port 231: Timing / area signal generation unit 232: Font memory 251: Optical sensor, 252: Magnetic sensor 253-258: Switch, 280: Image processing unit 281: Spatial filter unit 282: Gamma correction unit, 283: Color correction unit 284: Zoom unit, 288: Dither processing unit 340: Image processing terminal device (image reading assembly) SEL1 to SEL5: Selection circuit

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image pickup means for decomposing a document image in units of pixels for reading, and a display means having optical transparency and capable of being placed at an arbitrary position on a document to be read by the image pickup means, are substantially integrally constituted. An image reading assembly movable on the document; a moving amount detecting means for detecting a moving amount of the image reading assembly; and displaying visible information indicating a reading range on the document on the display means; A display control unit that updates a display position of the visible information in accordance with the movement amount detected by the movement amount detection unit. 2. An image pickup means for reading a document image by decomposing the image in units of pixels, and a display means having optical transparency and capable of being placed at an arbitrary position on a document to be read by the image pickup means, are substantially integrally formed. An image reading assembly that is movable on the original; an area specifying unit; an image processing unit that performs processing specified for each area specified by the area specifying unit on image data output by the imaging unit; Means for detecting a moving amount of the image reading assembly; moving amount detecting means; and displaying on the display means visible information indicating a range of an area specified by the area specifying means, and a display position of the visible information. Display control means for updating the information according to the movement amount detected by the movement amount detection means. 3. The coordinate input device according to claim 1, wherein the input surface has a light transmitting property, and the coordinate input means for inputting a two-dimensional position is provided in a state where the input surface substantially overlaps the display surface of the display means. Image reading device.